Flagship Opel Crossover Reportedly Stillborn Under PSA Ownership

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The sale of Opel and Vauxhall to PSA Groupe may have its first victim: a flagship crossover. Opel had long been planning to use a General Motors platform to underpin a range-topping crossover for its portfolio, but PSA has reportedly put the project on hold.

The report comes from Auto Express after General Motors officially closed the sale of the two brands on August 1, 2017. Day-to-day activities haven’t changed at either Opel or Vauxhall, but sources tell the publication a flagship crossover is stillborn for the time being. The crossover was likely going to use the C1XX platform that underpins the GMC Acadia and Cadillac XT5.

Rendered: Opel flagship SUV.

PSA Groupe is expected to freeze all projects under Opel and Vauxhall that were begun under GM ownership in order to reevaluate and consolidate its own technologies, engines and platforms. The Opel Corsa F may be the first vehicle to arise from the brand’s new French owners.

Additionally, Opel is rumored to be preparing a 300 horsepower Astra OPC with a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It’s unclear if the engine would be a GM or PSA unit, though, with this latest news, it seems like it may be the latter.

This Auto-Express story tells us that the Insignia’s platform I.e. E2XX. would be used, what I consider to be nonsense. This would require much more work then to restyle the new GMC Acadia into an Opelike looking body, on the short wheelbase version of the C1XX as written above by Sean Szymkowsky. The Buick Enclave uses the long wheelbase version of that platform.

On the other hand, the fact of K.T.Neumann’s resignation as CEO and leaving the company might indicate that Auto-Express’s story is not so far off.

KTN had not long before his resignation asserted in a long interview that all planned new cars would be built, including the “big SUV” as “second flagship” on the side of the Insignia. Maybe he would not have to explain as Opel CEO under PSA that his assertions in this interview are no longer valid. Who knows…

To bring neverless a “big SUV”, but with PSA means, this might be an Opel/Vauxhall version of the DS 7 Crossback which Emmanuel Macron rode down the Champs Elysées on the day of his inauguration as a pre-release show case for the French automobile industy.

This don’t surprise me at all, Peugoet & Citroen don’t like big cars & I recon the SUV craze is at breaking point. How many SUVs do we need? We already have Crossland x, Mokka x & Grandland x & people can go on about it’s good business sense, fact is it’s a trend & people are in the market to buy a car (one of) they ether buy a SUV or a car but not both, hence one can harm the others sales – although why anyone would want to buy a Nissan Micra pumped up (Juke) or similar is odd but people do. By building the likes of MPV’s & SUVs both GM & Ford have lost their grip on the market & played into the hands of imported rivals.

While Opel and Vauxhall won’t have access to this CUV, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if this vehicle sees production as a Buick in China and possibly other countries around the world including the United States.

I can never understand how company’s won’t let makers produce certain models (within GM Caddy & Corvette were not allowed competition from within) which is silly really because it makes the other brands uncompetitive & the other competition won’t hold back & dont mind competing. More competition is better.

Opel may not be fully global now, but Opel is a global brand as is Vauxhall & Chevrolet. GM never knew how to manage them yet at various times they’ve all sold around the world, ironic really just a few years ago all 3 GM global brands were on sale in Europe & yet now today GM has no global brands on sale in Europe.

GM is going the way of British Leyland.
Vauxhall would have been an ideal brand for India. Opel, too, has great potential in markets where Chevrolet has failed.
GM can globally badge engineer seeing as most consumers are not globe trotters.

India’s largest motorcycle manufacturer is Royal Enfield, its largest truck manufacturer is Ashok Leyland and its newest motorcycle manufacturer is BSA. And there are still surprising numbers of British built GM Bedford trucks on Indian roads, 2 decades or so after GM pulled the plug on its UK truck subsidiary. And just last week, Triumph announced a manufacturing partnership with Indian motorcycle manufacturer Bajou.

Curiously, British brands seem to work out well in India, even long after they all-but disappeared from view in the UK. But then again, over 95% of the Indian population weren’t even born when India was the jewel in the crown of the British Empire.

I think Vauxhall could definitely work as a brand in many markets. Tavares is on record as saying that Opel can work for PSA because there are many people who don’t want a French car. And he’s right. But equally there are many people who want something other than a German car too.

The companies which you mention, except Triumph Motorcycles, are purely Indian companies which survived those former British companies from which they had taken at least part of their name. Similarly, there is also a “Eicher Motors” in India, which bears the name of a former German tractor manufacturer (taken over by Massey-Fergruson in 1973), whose specialized narrow tractors for wine yards are still on the 2nd hand marked.

This is all history. England was liberated from its main colony in 1947. Germany enjoyed this liberation 28 years earlier.

GM limited the Vauxhall brand name exclusively to the UKoGBaNI (pronounce: Yukogbani). If PSA would like to use it elsewhere? Maybe. I’m sceptical, but I am not in their driver’s seat. Besides, they will have to stabilize their new branch.

I am looking forward to the common successor to Opel/Vauxhall Combo, Peugeot Partner and Citroën Berlingo, which is under common development since some years and announced for next year. I think the car will offer not only a long version, but also an extra short version, under 4 meters long, as the current Renault Kangoo does.

Then they will think about what to do with the medium and large sized LCV offerings of Opel/Vauxhall, which are being produced based on a contract with Renault, already in a second generation. I don’t think that PSA will want to continue with their French rival, but what then with the large “Light Commercial Vehicle”, the Movano? Will they get the next Movano also from Sevel Sud, the one still existing joint venture with Fiat, like the Peugeot Boxer and Citroëm Jumper, or will they develop their own light truck?

VXR8 and Maloo have no future. Even HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) are stopping production, as one can read in another item on this blog.

I have no real interest in the commercial veichles I’m only interested in the cars, yes it’s quite obvious sooner or later they’ll be the same because a van is a van & it’s for shifting stuff. Van based cars as MPV’s I’ve also no interest in, they’re for hire company’s, hotels, taxi firms & airports NOT private buyers so again no interest. I like what I’m most likely to buy & that’s cars. We’ve a good idea how the vans will pan out, more importantly it’s the car range & what direction that will go in that matters.